How to Write a Winning Resume

October 26, 2016

Landing an interview for your dream job (or just your next job) can take a combination of several factors: skills and qualifications, networking, timing and sometimes just plain old good luck. But no matter how you found the job opening, if your resume isn’t up to par, you could lose the opportunity before you have a chance to speak with your potential employer. Even if you’re perfectly happy in your current role and have no reason to believe you’d leave in the foreseeable future, it’s a good idea to keep your resume up to date. If nothing else, it’s a good place to track the accomplishments you’re most proud of! Here are some tips for making the most of yourself on paper, both from my own personal experience in helping with hiring in various roles as well as from various experts in the career and hiring field:

Make it easy to read. A hiring manager or recruiter should have no trouble giving your resume a quick skim to glean the important information. If there’s too much text, there’s a chance your resume could end up in the recycle bin without a second glance. Save the nitty gritty details for your interview and avoid long paragraphs of text with no bullets.

Write a custom, personal cover letter. At Financial Finesse, this can be the differentiator in whether our hiring managers even look at your resume. Use your cover letter to explain why you are excited about the job and highlight anything that would make you the most qualified for the role over someone else with similar experience. Your resume may be a bit dry and clinical, as it should be, so your cover letter is where you can let your personality shine through.

When I applied for my role at Financial Finesse, my cover letter started out, “I am enthusiastically submitting my resume for what I’ve bookmarked as my Dream Job and am so excited to learn more about this opportunity.” It wasn’t hyperbole, that was the truth. And it got me in the door.

Emphasize success, but don’t exaggerate or lie. If you note that you tripled sales in your first year on your current job and it’s the truth, be sure to say that! But also be prepared to give specifics. If you went from $1,000 to $3,000 in sales, there better be a good story behind why that is noteworthy.

Choose a type that fits your career best. Most first resumes are chronological. They list your education and work experience in chronological order. But as you gain more experience and start to move into more strategic roles, you may need to shift your resume to be more functional, where you focus on functions of a job you’ve performed, with the actual jobs and education listed later, or you may want to target your resume for each role you’re applying for.

Before I was at Financial Finesse, I was the Director of Marketing for a small CPA firm. On the surface, that isn’t exactly the type of position that would transition well into a financial planning role, so I targeted my Financial Finesse resume to focus on my prior planning experience, as well as the things I did while in my marketing role that would complement my qualifications to join Financial Finesse. It’s one of the reasons I lead our social media efforts and am on the blog team!

Use key words. This is particularly important if you are submitting your resume online for a published job opening. Many companies use software that scans resume for certain words to help the hiring managers sort which to even look at. Make sure yours includes many of the same words that are used in the job description.

Keep it focused on the value you can add. View everything you put on your resume through what I call the WIIFT lens – what’s in it for them. That means avoiding statements that start with ‘I,’ focusing on how your experience can add value rather than just listing duties and tasks you performed, leaving out information on what you hope to get from the job, deleting irrelevant experience (especially from the distant past), and staying away from flowery language. Everything on your resume should be laser focused on telling the prospective employer what you can do for them.

Proofread, use spell check and proofread again. Nothing turned me off more when reviewing resumes than a typo or grammatical error. Ask a friend or family member to give your resume a thorough read for errors and then proofread it yourself once again. Don’t let a boneheaded oversight ruin your chances for your next job.

Don’t forget that if you hire a resume writing coach for a job search in your current field, you may be able to write off the cost. Your resume should always be a work in progress. If you haven’t updated it lately, let this be a reminder to dig it out of your files and do a little refining in the next week or so.

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Can You Deduct Your Job Hunting Expenses?

October 19, 2016

Editor’s note: Please note that all miscellaneous deductions were eliminated with the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018, but would still apply for tax year 2017 and prior.

Did you know you might be able to deduct your job search? If you itemize deductions on Schedule A of your tax return and incurred significant expenses while searching for a new job in your field, you may be able to reduce your taxable income by keeping track of them. Here are the rules and caveats:

Most importantly, job search expenses are considered to be miscellaneous deductions, which means they need to exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income (“AGI”) before you can even include them as deductions. To roughly calculate AGI, add up your total income (including interest, dividends, capital gains, alimony received, wages and self-employment earnings), then subtract any pre-tax IRA or 401(k) contributions, HSA contributions, moving expenses, alimony paid and student loan interest¹. Multiply that by .02. If your job search expenses are in the ballpark of the result, then it’s worth tracking.
It’s also important to realize that this does not apply if you’re actually switching careers. If you’re thinking of leaving your corporate job to be a yoga teacher, you won’t be able to write off the cost of your teacher training. Only expenses incurred while searching within your current field from one job to another qualify. This also means you can’t write off expenses associated with your first job or even after long breaks away from working unless you were searching the whole time. In that case, keep as much data as possible to prove you were actively seeking work during that stretch to prove it – things like calendars, cover letters submitted, receipts for travel, etc.
Here’s what you can deduct, according to the IRS:
Resume costs – anything you spent preparing and mailing your resume (if you actually mailed it to anyone!)
Travel expenses – if you take a trip primarily to interview or seek a job
Meals – if you happen to have lunch with someone to discuss a job while you’re on vacation, you can only deduct 50% of the cost of the lunch plus any transportation costs directly related to getting to lunch like parking or a cab
Agency fees – the cost of using a placement agency to help you land interviews
Networking events – attending events to meet prospective employers or even people who can help you meet prospective employers as long as that’s what you’re there to do – aka you’re actually asking people for help with landing a job
Make sure you keep a solid record of any expenses you plan to deduct. The best way to remember what you need to note is to think of it like an invitation. You need a record of:
Who was there
What were you doing
When you incurred the expense
Where the expense was incurred (like the name of a restaurant)
Why it would qualify as a job-search expense

Don’t forget that if you do land a new job in your field that requires a move, you may be able to deduct those expenses too! Searching for a new job can be a tedious and expensive process. Make sure you track the expenses to avoid paying more taxes than you need to.

¹ Disclaimer: Not an exhaustive list of “above the line” deductions, but the most common

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How To Network Your Way To A New Job After A Lay-off

October 05, 2016

I’ll never forget the date October 5, 2001. It was the day I was called into HR at my very first job after only one year and one month to be advised I was being let go as part of a firm-wide staffing decrease. I was given a generous separation package, including an assigned mentor, Steve, to help me find a new job.

After I scraped my pride up off the ground, called my mom to cry and accepted that it was time to move on, I called my mentor Steve to get started. His first and most emphatic piece of advice was, “Let your network know. Tell them you’re looking.”

Finding your network

I was clueless to what he meant. I was a lowly staff accountant at a Big 5 accounting firm. We didn’t network. That was for partners and salespeople. My “network” consisted of other second year staffers who went out drinking together on Thursday nights and played flag football on Mondays — in other words, my friends.

As the years went by and my network naturally expanded due to co-workers leaving for other jobs and even led to me being recruited to a new job, I started to understand what Steve was talking about. When I moved to Chicago in 2010 and didn’t know a soul, I took to networking to make friends and find clients for my coaching business. That eventually led to a post as the president of the Professional Women’s Club of Chicago, the premiere networking organization for women in all industries in Chicago.

Networking is just making friends for business

What I’ve realized is that networking is really just making friends in a business setting, and the truth is that the best time to build your network is when you don’t need it. When you’re in a position to help someone else out before you need help, you’re much more likely to receive the help you need when it comes time to ask, even if it’s not from the same people you’ve helped. Basically, it’s karma. So how do you use networking to find a new job? Here’s what’s worked for me and my network:

Reach out to former colleagues. Who knows your work self better than people who have actually worked with you? Connect through LinkedIn or just send them a note to let them know you’re looking and see if they know of any opportunities.

Use those professional associations. Almost any professional career has some type of association that posts jobs and other networking opportunities. CFP® professionals have the CFP® Board, CPAs have state societies as well as the AICPA, lawyers have local, state and even the national bar associations, marketing people have the AMA, and IT specialists have AITP. The list goes on. Even if you’re not a member, check their website to see if they have job postings or upcoming events where you can meet others in your field.

Look to your alma mater. Pretty much every major city has an alumni group for larger universities. Look on your school’s alumni website to see if they have any local events coming up that you could attend to make new connections.

Even if there is no local chapter, you may still find job postings or at least a listing of other alumni in your area. Reach out and ask for coffee or lunch. You never know who your fellow alumni may know.

Just show up. Virtually any situation where you’re meeting new people can offer networking opportunities. The next time you’re invited to an event where you feel like you might not know anyone besides the host, consider going anyway and set a goal to meet three new people. That takes the pressure off from feeling like you have to work the entire room and even if you don’t find your next job, it’s good practice for networking at events designed for job seekers in the future.

Be specific about what you want. My friend Marcy wrote in her brilliant book You Know Everybody!: The Career Girl’s Guide to Building a Network That Works about how to zero in on exactly what you’re looking for before asking for help. Make it easy for people to connect you to others by being very clear about who you want to meet or what you want to do. It’s much easier to flip through your mental Rolodex and offer an introduction when someone says, “I’m seeking introductions to sales managers in the hospitality industry,” than when you hear, “I’m looking for a job in sales.” Unless I’ve just spoken to someone who said, “I need salespeople!” it’s unlikely I’ll be able to help you find what you need in that situation.

Above all, remember to be yourself when networking. It can be nerve-wracking to introduce yourself to strangers, especially if you’re desperately seeking a new job opportunity. Keep in mind that pretty much everyone else in the room is probably equally as uncomfortable and find your common ground there. Then just work on making friends. You never know where it might take you!

If It Sounds Too Good to Be True…

August 05, 2016

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators released a study based on complaints to local consumer organizations. This article discusses the top 10 categories of complaints. At number 10 is “Scams.” To quote the article, here are some of the top scams:

Tech support: A caller claiming to be with a well-known company such as Microsoft seeks access to your computer, warning you will lose files or suffer other harm if you don’t allow it.
The grandparent scam: A “grandchild” calls an older person, claiming to need quick cash for an emergency in another state or country.
CEO email: An email that appears to be from your company CEO asks employees to wire money to a foreign supplier for a deal that needs to close immediately — promising you’ll be reimbursed, of course.
IRS scam: A caller “from the IRS” wants money you owe, now, often in the form of a prepaid card (iTunes gift cards are also being used this way). The caller may warn that you’ll have to pay even more or that law enforcement officers will come to your home if you don’t comply.
Tax ID theft: In this case, the scammer poses as you and scoops up your tax refund. In many cases, taxpayers don’t find out about it until they can’t file their tax returns because someone beat them to it.

The common thread in these scams is that the scammer preys upon one of two emotions – fear or greed. By either promising something for free or using fear and pressure, the scammer hopes to use your emotions against you and in his favor. I’ve talked to quite a number of people who have fallen victim to a scam and have seen the financial distress that it caused.

For example, one of my friends has been out searching for a new job recently, and he was telling me about an offer he received from a company. They were offering a much higher salary than other companies he had interviewed with recently and definitely made him feel special throughout the interview process. It was almost as if they were telling him exactly what he wanted to hear. They offered him a role, and he was strongly considering accepting it, but there was a nagging little voice in his head that said something didn’t add up. He was contacted by a recruiter and hadn’t known much about this firm other than what they told him.

So we broke out the laptop and started doing some research. What we found was not spectacular. The leaders of the organization had a very checkered past, and while they treated their employees well, their customers were overcharged and charged for services never performed (at least in prior companies). He politely declined their offer, but he nearly accepted it because they used his emotions against him. It was the same modus operandi of the scams but with a different end goal.

If confronted with a situation like these scams, don’t ever give personal identifying information to anyone over the phone. Take a deep breath and a mental step backwards. Break out Google and do some research. Call your local consumer protection agency to see if others have reported scams.

As you go through your life and engage in potential transactions either as a consumer or a potential employee, remember to try to strip emotions from the deal (if it’s significant) and don’t allow anyone to manipulate your emotions against you. No one will be or should be as protective over your money as you. And remember the old phrase, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”